


Coffee Date

by EldritchSandwich



Series: Erin and Felicity [2]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Bisexuality, Chunky Sandwich, Coffee Shops, Coming Out, F/F, First Dates, Kissing, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-20
Updated: 2018-03-20
Packaged: 2019-04-05 00:17:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14032005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EldritchSandwich/pseuds/EldritchSandwich
Summary: After their unexpected moment on the kiss cam, Erin has to work out what she really feels about Felicity...and what to do about it.





	Coffee Date

**Author's Note:**

> This is a direct (as in picks up less than twenty seconds later) sequel to Kiss Cam. It will make substantially less sense if you haven't read that first.

Erin kept smiling all the way up her parents' driveway. If someone had asked her three hours ago whether she was going to end tonight in a good mood, she would have laughed at such a ridiculously obvious question. If someone had asked her two hours ago, she still would have laughed...it just would have been been laced with bitter irony.

As she looked back on the night, she couldn't help shaking her head. Within the last three hours she'd gone to a college basketball game with her boyfriend, been kissed by another girl in front of hundreds of people, gotten in the worst fight she'd ever had with that boyfriend, gotten a ride home from that girl, broken up with him, kissed her again...the entire night had been a whirlwind, and she still wasn't back on the ground.

Then, as she unlocked the door to her parents' house and stepped inside, she abruptly came crashing back down.

"Hello? Who's...Erin?" Erin's smile turned into a wince as her stepmother Lauren peeked around the arch leading into the living room. "Hey, sweetheart! What's going on, I thought tonight was your basketball game?"

"Hi, Mom, yeah, it was," Erin muttered as her stepmom pulled her into a hug. " I, um...Kyle and I kind of...had a fight. After the game. I was hoping I could stay here tonight?"

"Of course, sweetie. Always. What happened?"

Erin shifted awkwardly; she still wasn't sure how much of this she wanted to talk about. "Where's Dad?"

"Oh, he has an early morning tomorrow so he decided to go the bed. I've just been reading. Come on, sit down. Do you want some tea or something?"

Erin couldn't help but smile as she was led to the couch. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure? I have...wait, what happened to your mouth?"

Erin winced. That was twice now she'd tried to hide the cut in her lip from a woman who was more observant than Erin had counted on. "I'm fine, it's fine, we were just..."

As she trailed off, Lauren's eyes went wide. "Did...did Kyle do that?"

Erin shook her head. "It's okay, Mom, it's fine. He...it's never happened before and it's never going to happen again. We..." She sighed. "I broke up with him."

Lauren slid down next to her, reaching for her hand. "Maybe you'd better start from the beginning, sweetie."

And so Erin awkwardly narrated the evening's events, but rendering Felicity's identity as the euphemistic 'someone else.' She covered the kiss, the argument, the slap, everything but the fact that 'someone else' was a pretty girl who she was pretty sure she might like to _keep_ kissing. "Then after that Kyle drove off and I got a ride here from...this girl who was sitting next to us at the game."

Her stepmother squeezed her hand. "I'm so sorry, sweetie. I always knew that boy wasn't good enough for you..."

That made Erin chuckle. "No you didn't! You and Dad both loved Kyle."

Lauren frowned. "Well we were wrong, then. Nobody gets to lay a finger on our baby."

Erin smiled, cupping the hand that caressed her cheek. "Do you think Dad's gonna be disappointed?"

Lauren blinked. "What? Why?"

"Well...when I was in high school he always used to say 'If a boy ever lays a hand on you, break his nose.'"

Lauren burst out laughing. "Yeah well your dad's an idiot. You did exactly the right thing, sweetie, I'm so proud of you." Erin sighed as Lauren pulled her into a hug. "I'll get you set up in the guest room, okay sweetie? We can talk more in the morning."

Erin just nodded against her chest.

* * *

Erin woke with a contented sigh to the familiar sensation of dappled sunlight shimmering over her. The guest room wasn't her old room—that had been turned into Lauren's jewelry-making studio when Erin went off to college—but all the bedrooms had the same white lace curtains; her mother had picked them out when they moved in, and after she died her father had never had the heart to replace them. On that melancholy note, Erin sighed and sat up in bed. "Wish me luck, Mom."

She glanced down at her phone to check the time and noticed that she had a text waiting. Her heart momentarily stuttered at the thought it might be from Felicity, but she barely had time to chastise herself for that before she saw it was from Marisol less than a minute ago; it must have been what woke her up.

_So anything you want to tell me about the game last night?_

Erin frowned. That seemed like a weird way to put it. No _How was the game?_ or _Did you have a good time last night?_ She pulled up her knees to rest her phone at eye level and bit her lip as she typed.

_Good morning to you too. Why do you ask?_

The response was almost immediate.

_Okay don't freak out_  
_But the WIldcats put a highlight reel from last night on their Facebook_  
_And you were kind of in it_

Erin's eyes went wide. She spent just enough time panicking for Marisol to decide she wasn't going to respond.

_Wtf girl don't leave me hanging_  
_Who is she what happened what did Kyle say?_

Erin winced. Last night Felicity had brought up the idea of the kiss cam footage ending up online, but she hadn't taken it all that seriously, or at least hadn't thought it would happen literally overnight. She sighed.

_It's kind of complicated. Can we have lunch and take about it?_

"Sweetheart, are you up?"

Erin looked up toward the door just in time for Lauren to knock. "Yeah, Mom, come in." The door opened, and she forced a smile. "What's up?"

"Your dad's already gone, we didn't want to wake you. I was wondering if you wanted breakfast. Eggs?"

"Yeah, that sounds great. Just, um...I think I'm gonna take a shower, then I'll be down in a minute."

"Okay. No rush."

As Lauren closed the door and Erin's shoulders relaxed, her phone buzzed.

_Yeah of course. Stover's at noon?_

_Yeah sounds good_ , Erin texted back before dropping her phone with a sigh.

Well shit. Today was going to be interesting.

* * *

In the end her morning consisted of a hot shower, a rummage through her old clothes from high school (that still, depressingly, fit) to find something to wear, a quiet, awkward breakfast, and a promise to come back for dinner when Dad got back from his run. Before she headed upstairs to work on a pair of earrings she was making Lauren was nice enough to let Erin borrow her car for the day, which meant one headache Erin didn't have to worry about. Which was good: she had plenty as it was.

Her usual way to de-stress—and the way she'd spent many Saturdays before this one—was to go hiking in Lawrence Park. Well she didn't want to get all sweaty before lunch so it was more like nature-walking, but it still gave her time to think.

In the light of day, her encounter with Felicity last night seemed...almost unreal. As if she'd dreamed the whole thing, so desperate for something exciting to happen in her boring little life that she invented some kind of lesbian fairy tale. She was straight, after all. Wasn't she? Walking out of the woods, legs straining and lungs full of the smell of pine, she could almost believe it was all just a fantasy.

Which, naturally, meant that when she looked down to check her phone now that she had reception again...there was a message from Felicity.

_This is me texting you. Hi._

Erin bit her lip. Well, so much for fantasy. She wondered if she should even respond; maybe last night was a mistake and it would be best just to try to put it behind her. Maybe if she just didn't say anything, Felicity would get the message.

Her phone chimed.

_Hi, I was just thinking about you_

Erin's eyes went wide. Just like last night when she called Felicity for a ride, her traitorous goddamn thumb had apparently made the decision for her. Erin didn't even have time to hold her breath waiting for the response:

_So last night was big and weird, right?_

Erin winced. _Yeah understatement_

_Can we meet up and talk?_

Erin's bite on her lip hardened until it hurt, then she shook her head. She was being stupid. So what if last night really happened? So what if a gorgeous, sweet, thoughtful, artistic lesbian liked her and wanted to kiss her and maybe she felt the same way? Ignoring it wasn't going to make it go away.

_Okay. I'm having lunch with a friend, but maybe this afternoon if you're free?_

Again, the response was almost immediate.

_I'm free. How about coffee?_  
_Is there a place near your parents?_

In spite of herself, Erin smiled. She wondered how far out of her way Felicity was going to see her, both now and last night.

_Black Coffee. It's at Marshall Plains. Does 3 work for you?_

_Perfect. I'm glad we'll get a chance to talk_

Erin bit her lip. _Yeah me too_

When there was no more, she let her phone drop to her side with a sigh. Fuck.

* * *

"I still can't believe he hit you," Marisol said as she pulled the lettuce out of her burger. Erin frowned; she wasn't sure whether it was worrying or reassuring that no one else had seen that in Kyle either. "I mean, what an asshole. But seriously, honey...who is this girl?"

Erin shrugged, picking at her fries. "She's...just a girl, I don't know. She's an artist, she waits tables, she has a pet turtle, you know, she's just a normal person."

"You seem to know a lot about her," Marisol said with a smug smile, and Erin bristled.

"We just...talked on the drive home."

"About how she hardcore wants to raw you." Erin's cheeks flushed. "But she knows you're straight, right?"

"Yeah of course she knows!" Erin snapped, then sighed. "Look, the thing is...I might not actually be...a hundred percent straight."

Marisol blinked. "Uh...excuse me?"

Erin swallowed. For some reason she'd found it easier to tell Felicity this story last night. "I had this friend in high school. Gloria. And we kind of...fooled around. Once! But...looking back...I might have kind of had a crush on her."

Marisol frowned in thought. "Okay, but, well...that happens, right? Getting a crush doesn't necessarily mean that you're...what, bi?"

Erin winced. "The thing is...I kind of think I might...feel the same way about Felicity. Like, when she kissed me...when I kissed her...it felt like it did when I kissed Gloria." She glanced up at her best friend's skeptical face. "You made out with girls all the time in college."

Marisol shrugged. "Yeah, sure, to show off or screw around or whatever, and it was fine, I guess, but it was never...you know, tingly." She tilted her head to study Erin. "When you and this Felicity girl kissed, was it...tingly?" Erin's blush darkened. She just nodded. Marisol leaned back and blew out a breath. "Okay. Well...I'm happy for you, I guess? Does this mean you're actually going to...you know..."

Erin licked her lips. "I...I don't know. Maybe. I think so."

Marisol shook her head. "Well shit, honey, I always thought you were boring."

Erin couldn't help but chuckle. "Yeah. I always thought I was too."

Marisol smiled. "Well then, good luck this afternoon. With your date."

Erin blushed again, but she couldn't stop a smile.

* * *

The next few hours were...well, kind of agonizing if she was being honest. Since she was already at Marshall Plains Shopping Center for lunch it didn't make sense to leave, so she mostly spent the time browsing for things she couldn't really afford and didn't really want in order to distract herself. She hadn't been on a first date in almost a year. She hadn't been on a first date with a girl...well, ever. Not that she was expecting it to be all that different, but then...that was kind of the problem. She didn't know what to expect.

She ended up at Black Coffee half an hour early, just sitting and compulsively checking her phone. That meant she had a perfect vantage point from the couch at the back of the cafe when Felicity walked in fifteen minutes early, also staring nervously at her phone.

Erin couldn't resist taking the opportunity to study her. All her chances to look at Felicity so far had been fleeting, sidelong glances at the game or in the dim light of the car, and seeing her all at once in the bright sunlight coming through the windows made Erin realize all over again just how gorgeous she was. The riotous strawberry-blond hair that had first caught Erin's attention was pinned up behind her in a messy bun, drawing more attention to the long neck and rounded shoulders bared by her simple off-shoulder shirt. She was wearing jeans, and Erin couldn't seem to look away from the shape of her hips. Come to think of it, that had been the part of Gloria's body she only in retrospect realized she'd spent a lot of time staring at; it seemed like maybe she had a type.

She looked back up, and her eyes went wide as they met Felicity's, a knowing grin on the redhead's face. Erin flushed, then stood up as Felicity slid between the tables to meet her. "Hey."

Felicity's smile quirked. "Hey."

Erin cleared her throat and tried to banish her blush. "You're...here early."

"Yeah, you too."

As their eyes held a little too long, Erin shook her head. "We should probably go order."

"Yeah. Good idea." As they headed for the line, Felicity added "My treat."

Erin shook her head. "No, come on, I can't let you do that. You came to my rescue last night, I feel like I need to pay you back..."

"Really, it's not a big deal, I told you, it wasn't even out of my way."

Erin pursed her lips. "Uh-huh. How far out of your way wasn't it, exactly?"

Felicity winced. "Okay, I mean...only like half an hour, so..."

"Half an hour?"

Felicity's wince deepened. "Each way?" As Erin sighed, Felicity shook her head. "Really, it wasn't a big deal..."

"No, it was a big deal." Felicity's mouth snapped shut when Erin grabbed her hand, and Erin quickly released it and cleared her throat. "So I'm definitely paying."

Felicity smiled gently. "Okay."

They were still smiling at each other when they reached the counter; when the barista cleared his throat, they both jumped and looked up sheepishly to find him with a knowing smirk. "What can I get you ladies?"

"Um, I'll have a medium mocha." Erin turned toward Felicity expectantly.

"Oh. Right. Uh, medium latte, please. Do you have almond milk?"

"Yeah, no problem. Your total's seven ninety."

As Erin handed over her debit card, she glanced at Felicity. "So...are you vegan? I mean, not to pry, I just..." She pursed her lips. "I don't really know a lot about you."

Felicity smiled. "It's okay. And no, I just...like the way it tastes."

"Oh." As they stepped aside to wait for their coffee, the silence trickled back in. Erin fidgeted. She hadn't had any problem sitting in comfortable silence last night in the car; why was it awkward now?

Felicity's lips popped. "So did you get home okay last night?"

Erin shook her head. "Oh. Yeah, my stepmom was up, so she...you know, got me settled."

"Good. I...good."

"Yeah."

When the silence threatened to return again, Erin sighed.

"Look—" "Okay so—"

The two girls stopped, then blinked, then burst out laughing. "You go," Erin said.

Felicity licked her lips. "Okay, so...I kind of feel like there's some pretty big stuff we're...not talking about. And we should probably just...get it out of the way."

Erin nodded hesitantly. "O...okay."

Felicity took a deep breath. Erin thought maybe she was waiting for her to start, but as soon as she opened her mouth Felicity blurted out "Are you going to break up with your boyfriend?" Erin blinked, and Felicity winced. "Sorry, I didn't mean...I just meant that last night it seemed like...I mean I thought you were sending some pretty clear signals, but...if you're going to try to patch things up with this guy, I just...don't want to get my hopes up."

Erin couldn't stop an awkward smile. "Oh. Okay. The thing is, um...I actually broke up with him last night. By text. Literally ten seconds before I kissed you."

Felicity blinked. "Oh. I...I didn't know if—"

"Medium mocha, medium almond latte!" They both jumped, then looked up sheepishly. When they had their coffee in hand Erin tipped her head back toward the couch where she'd been sitting when Felicity walked in, and Felicity nodded. They sat down, sipped their coffee, and Erin tried to think of what to say. As the silence returned, Felicity frowned.

"Listen, Erin, I—"

"I like you," Erin blurted out, then immediately blushed. "I think...I like you. I mean, 'like' like you. And that's...kind of new and weird for me, but it's also kind of not, which is also weird, and...do you know what I mean?"

Felicity quirked a smile. "Yeah, I know what you mean. The first time I realized I liked a girl was kind of an experience."

Erin nestled into the couch and leaned forward. "How old were you?"

"Thirteen. I mean I'd had crushes before that, but I was in kind of the 'all girls look at other girls' phase. But then when I was thirteen I was listening to my best friend Rachel gush about how her crush on this boy named Ryan made her feel, and the more she talked the more I realized that was exactly the same way I felt when I was around her."

"Did she feel the same way?"

Felicity let out a brittle laugh. "God no. Actually, she met up with Ryan again in college and they're married now. So...good for them, I guess." Erin hummed thoughtfully as Felicity shrugged and settled back into the couch. "So tell me about your parents."

"Oh! Right. Well my dad's a truck driver. Kind of tough and old-fashioned. My birth mom died when I was ten, but Lauren, my stepmom, she's great. Kind of artsy, always loves talking with me about guys." Erin let the unspoken question of whether she was going to be as enthusiastic talking about girls hang there for a moment, then cleared her throat. "What about yours?"

Felicity's fond smile twitched, and she looked down at the couch. "Uh, my dad's a pastor, my mom's a pastor's wife. We don't...really talk anymore." Erin winced, and Felicity shrugged. "It's okay. They had to make a choice, and they made it. I'm over it. My brother and I still text sometimes, at least."

"You have a brother?"

"Jacob. Younger. You?"

Erin shook her head. "Only child. I...I think Mom and Dad were still trying, but...yeah."

Felicity nodded, then took a sip of her coffee. When she lowered the cup, she blew out a breath. "Well shit, this got depressing fast." Erin couldn't stop a giggle. "So what do you like to do? Other than save animals' lives and make out with complete strangers?"

Erin pursed her lips. "Um...I like to hike. Run, play sports, dance, anything physical really. I guess I was kind of a tomboy growing up."

"Ugh, not me. Exercise is the devil. But I have always kind of had a thing for sporty girls, so..."

Erin flushed. "What about you, what do you do for fun? Other than your art?"

"I'm more of a fangirl. You know, TV, movies, video games. My parents thought secular pop culture was Satanic propaganda, so I guess I kind of glutted myself on that stuff when I went off to college."

"Hm. I always wanted to see more movies and stuff, but I was always too busy."

Felicity shrugged, eyes looking up from under her lashes. "Well then, maybe we could see one sometime."

Erin smiled. "Yeah." When the eye contact lingered a little too long, Erin cleared her throat and looked down at her coffee. "So you have a turtle."

Felicity chuckled. "Yeah. A box turtle, his name's Rodrigo. He's...very chill. Likes cucumber." Erin smiled. "What about you, vet tech, any pets?"

"Not right now. We always had them growing up, but that was mostly me and my mom's thing. After Dad married Lauren we stopped getting new ones, and then after Benedict Arnold died when I was away at college they never—"

"Wait. Stop. Benedict Arnold?"

Erin grimaced. "Our cat."

Felicity laughed. "You had a cat named Benedict Arnold?"

Erin rolled her eyes. "Okay, so...the thing is, we got him when I was five. And like a week before that I'd watched this PBS history thing about the American Revolution with my dad...I didn't even really get who he was, I just really loved the name for some reason, so when we needed a name for the cat..."

Felicity burst out laughing. "And did...did your cat betray the revolution and try to give West Point to the British?"

"He might as well have." Erin threw her head back with a groan. "God, that cat was such an asshole...to everybody except me." As her laughter faded, Felicity's did too. "Maybe I should get a cat. Since I'm gonna be living alone now."

Felicity flinched. "I really am sorry, I..."

"Stop, I told you in the car last night, it's not your fault. Kyle and I...we were already broken."

Felicity frowned. "Yeah. I get it. I just...maybe it's just some of the stuff my parents used to say. About lesbians...seducing straight girls, converting them or whatever. Maybe I internalized some stuff." As Felicity sat in thought, Erin gingerly slid her hand on top of the one on Felicity's knee and squeezed. Felicity smiled softly, then cleared her throat. "Sorry, where were we? Something about your cat betraying us to the Crown?"

Erin laughed.

* * *

When they finally emerged from Black Coffee, the sun was starting to go down. They'd talked for hours, and until they stepped outside Erin hadn't even noticed. She shook her head. "Wow. I should...probably get back to my parents' place."

"Yeah, I have a commission I really need to work on. I'm feeling..." Felicity smiled gently. "Strangely inspired."

Erin blushed. "I...had a really good time."

"Yeah, me too. Do you...want me to walk you to your car?"

"No, I'm fine."

"Okay. Well...I'll call you."

Erin nodded. Felicity turned around. "Wait!" Felicity turned back, and Erin winced. "I just...was this a date?"

Felicity blinked, then started to fidget awkwardly. "Oh. Uh, I mean...yeah, if...if you want it to have been a date."

Erin licked her bottom lip. "Yeah. I do."

"Then it was a date," Felicity said with a grin. Erin cleared her throat.

"So, since we just had a date, and we're saying goodnight at the end of the date, then..."

As what she wasn't saying landed, Felicity grinned. Without another word, she closed the gap between them and tipped her head. When their lips touched, Erin's eyes fluttered shut and she found her hands unconsciously sliding up Felicity's hips as the increasingly familiar warmth began to spread out from her lips. Like the other two in what was quickly becoming a trend, the kiss was brief...but for those two seconds it was the only thing in Erin's world.

When Felicity pulled back, she was smiling dreamily. "I'll call you."

"Not if I call you first," Erin blurted out. She blinked, then groaned as Felicity burst out laughing.

"You're such a dork." Erin was caught by surprise when Felicity leaned in for another kiss, just a brief peck on the lips before pulling back. "Let's do this again." Erin nodded eagerly as Felicity stepped back. "Night."

"Night!"

Erin just watched as Felicity headed off into the parking lot, turning to look back at her a few times with that gorgeous grin. When she disappeared, Erin shook her head and turned away toward her own car—well, Lauren's car—to start the drive home. She bit her lip, mulling over in her head just how much of what had happened in the past twenty four hours she was going to bring up with her parents. Depending on what she chose, dinner was either going to be very, very awkward...or very, very interesting.

She licked her lips, and just like last night she could taste the faintest hint of Felicity's lip balm. Cherry. She couldn't help but smile.


End file.
